2 minute read
of the
FEB. 16-18
Resonate Festival
Clarinetist Anthony McGill, the Orlando Philharmonic’s 2022-2023 artist in residence, is the first AfricanAmerican principal player in New York Philharmonic’s history. He may also be the first internationally known classical musician to take a social-justice hashtag viral, as McGill did with #taketwoknees after the death of George Floyd. The “citizen musician” is a centerpiece of this year’s Resonate Festival, soloing each night in both programs: at 7 p.m., with the full orchestra, and at 9 p.m., in chamber concerts after intermission. The three nights of the festival are a candy store for classical lovers, with works big and small from Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Debussy, Clara Schumann, Copland, and Coleridge-Taylor. 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Monday; Plaza Live, 425 N. Bumby Ave., 407-896-6700; orlandophil.org; $10-$35. — Jessica Bryce Young
FEB. 18-19
John Mellencamp
Haize marks the imminent release of their much-anticipated debut EP with this performance. Haize’s sound is pitched between ghostly torch songs and in-themoment hip-hop production aesthetics but slowed-down and twisted beyond all recognition. Their performances are unbelievable: a candle balanced on the head, gothic gestures and diva braidwhips merged into a seamless, elegant whole. Get ready, they sure are. 7 p.m., Suva Kava Lounge, 1015 State Road 436, Casselberry, $14. — Matthew Moyer
One day you turn around, and John Mellencamp is in his 70s. While this may be disorienting to wide swathes of his fans, it’s undoubtedly equally shocking to Mellencamp himself. Although he’s always been possessed of a craggy, old-manin-a-young-man’s-game energy, he also always begrudgingly carried a bit of the Johnny Cougar sparkle that he’s spent five decades disowning. (His website currently opens to a splash page that’s nothing but a pro-gun control message punctuated with “Politicians don’t give a fuck about you, they don’t give a fuck about me, and they don’t give a fuck about our children.”) Mellencamp’s 2023 tour, though, absolutely feels like a victory lap, coming as it does on the heels of a deluxe reissue of his landmark Scarecrow album (which he encouraged fans not to buy) and the installation of a permanent exhibit in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honoring his accomplishments. He’s playing multiple dates in “intimate” venues like theaters rather than arenas, which means that, while he will certainly play a few songs from his latest album, Orpheus Descending, these shows will be chock-full of the songs you know and stories about how they were made. Bonus: These shows find staunchly anti-sellout Mellencamp finally selling out and having a co-sponsor for the tour. No, it’s not Budweiser or some bank; it’s Turner Classic Movies. How can you not love this man? 8 p.m., Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center, 445 S. Magnolia Ave, drphillipscenter.org, $350-$399. — Jason Ferguson
SUNDAY, FEB. 19
Emmylou Harris
Yes, we know. The Villages is kind of a long drive for a concert. And it’s, you know, The Villages. But there are two things to consider here. The first is that we’re talking about Emmylou Harris, the very definition of an American music icon who — incredibly — has not only maintained her integrity and high standards through nearly a half-century of work, but has also indulged multiple artistic left turns and experiments to push the genre of “country music” in thrilling new directions. Putting aside the groundbreaking work she did with Gram Parsons, her solo career has been a study in how to excel as both an interpreter of songs and as a creative guidepost for songwriters. Her run of albums in the 1970s set an impossibly high bar, one that she would later vault over with excursions into atmospheric folk (Wrecking Ball ), acoustic traditionalism (her Hot Band and Nash Ramblers records and tours), and eminence grise collaborations with everyone from Conor Oberst and Nick Cave to Anne Murray. She is a perfect example of a bucket-list performer that everyone should see and who, fortunately, is still in prime voice. The second thing? The Morse is a gorgeous theater set among the phantasmic streets of The Villages and, honestly, you know you’ve always wanted to hang out in The